Select Board adds Maple Ridge to cemetery policy and sets plot fee at $200

The Harrison Select Board voted to add Maple Ridge Cemetery to the town's cemetery policy and set a fee of $200 per plot, including perpetual-care funds, after hearing a presentation from a volunteer who manages plot sales. The changes to the policy (a cover-date update and adding Maple Ridge) were approved first; the fee motion passed afterward.

Megan, who presented the policy and fee review, told the board she could not sell Maple Ridge plots until the board set a fee for that section. "The most important thing is I need a piece schedule set for Maple Ridge or I can't sell any plots in it," she said. The board discussed regional comparators and statutory requirements for perpetual-care set-asides, and members agreed to adopt the pre-existing Maple Ridge fee structure until a detailed fee review in the budget cycle.

The board's motion to add Maple Ridge to the cemetery policy (cover-date change and addition of Maple Ridge) was made and seconded and approved unanimously. A separate motion to set the Maple Ridge fee at $200 — described by the presenter as $100 for the plot plus $100 perpetual care — was then made, seconded and approved by the board.

Why this matters: the fee-setting restores the town's ability to sell available plots at Maple Ridge and ensures the town complies with state rules requiring a portion of sale proceeds to be set aside for perpetual care. Staff said a broader fee review is scheduled during the January fee-review process and that the policy will reference the state law that requires 30% of a sale be set aside for perpetual care.

The town manager and the cemetery volunteer said staff will follow up with written policy language and an updated fee schedule for public posting and for inclusion in the January budget-and-fee review.